Week 5 – finale | PRM 300 Introduction to Project Management | Ashford University

Prior to beginning work on this assignment, please complete this week’s readings, review the Weekly Lecture, and the grading rubric for this assignment. In addition, read the Eight Simple Rules of Good Writing and the PRM300 Week 5 Final Paper template from your online classroom. It may be helpful to download the grading rubric and use it as a checklist to ensure you covered all the necessary elements.

While a five-week course barely covers the full work of a project manager, it should have given you a solid perspective on the field and the variety of responsibilities of a project manager. Now that you have the basics, it is your turn to share what you know.

Congratulations, you have been hired as a project manager! The company that hired you will be doing a series of projects over the next five years, but most of their employees have little project experience. The company wants to start on the right foot and ensure that employees are using standard project management terms and processes. Your first task with this new company is to write a training manual to provide an overview of project management and the processes and terms the employees will need to know to be part of (and even lead) project teams. You will be sharing what you have learned in this course and sharing updated and corrected examples of the work you have done in this course to use as examples in this manual.

The Project Management Training Manual will include screenshot examples and explanations of project selection form, project scope template, work breakdown structures (WBS), and the Gannt chart created in prior weeks. Be sure to update these examples based on any new criteria presented in these instructions. Prior to completing this Final Paper, review this week’s required readings from the textbook, this week’s lecture, and feedback from past learning activities. Include feedback you received on the previous assignments, knowledge you obtained in the class, and your research so that the training manual will reflect project management best practices.

In your paper, include the following elements:

Introduction

• Introduce the project management manual and what you will cover.
• Explain what a project is and how project management improves an organization’s success.
• Summarize the five process groups in the project management life cycle (briefly).

Initiating/Pre-Planning/Project Selection

• Explain the pre-planning stage of the project management lifecycle.
  • Explain project management terms, tools, and techniques that are applicable to the pre-planning/project selection stage.
• Describe various approaches for selecting projects.
  • Provide an example of a project selection form.
  • Explain the purpose of a project selection form.
  • Insert an updated and corrected copy of the project selection form from Week 2 to use as an example.
  • Explain the elements of the project selection form and their importance.

Planning Phase

• Explain the planning stage of the project management lifecycle.
  • Explain project management terms, tools, and techniques that are applicable to the planning stage.
• Explain the purpose of project scope statement and all the terms used in the project scope template.
  • Project Basics:
    • Project Name
    • Project Sponsor
    • Project Scope Statement
  • Project Scope:
    • Assumptions
    • Milestones
    • Out of Scope (Exclusions)
  • Project Execution:
    • Stakeholders
    • Time estimate
    • Cost estimate
    • Project Acceptance Criteria
• Insert a corrected and updated screenshot of your project scope template from Week 2 into your manual.
• Explain the work breakdown structure (WBS), project milestones, and the critical path.
  • Explain how these elements relate to the project’s status.
• Create a WBS in in ProjectLibre, or modify the example you created in Week 3, taking into account both instructor and peer feedback (as applicable).
  • Include a screen shot of the WBS as an example in your training manual. (Make sure the example contains the appropriate level of detail, so the reader understands the context.)

Executing Phase of the Project Lifecycle

• Explain the executing stage of the project management lifecycle.
  • Explain project management terms, tools, and techniques that are applicable to the executing stage.
• Explain the change control process.

Monitoring and Controlling Phase

• Explain the monitoring and controlling stage of the project management lifecycle.
  • Explain project management terms, tools, and techniques that are applicable to the monitoring and controlling stage.
• Explain project cost and time management and how they relate to the project’s status.
  • Explain the various options after accessing the reporting option within ProjectLibre.
  • List what is in the project detail report. (The Weekly Lecture has additional information on how to generate and include a screen shot of the project details report in your training manual.)

Closing

• Explain the closing stage of the project management lifecycle.
  • Explain project management terms, tools, and techniques that are applicable to the closing stage.
• Explain what a “Lessons Learned” report is and its importance for future projects within the organization.

Conclusion

Your Project Management Training Manual Final Paper

• Must be 2,500 to 3,500 words in length (10 to 12 pages, not including title page, screen captures, or references pages) and formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center’s APA Style (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. resource.
• Must include a separate title page with the following:
  • Title of paper
  • Student’s name
  • Course name and number
  • Instructor’s name
  • Date submitted